ESCATAWPA, Mississippi -- About 150 Magnolia Middle School students have learned what goes on behind the scenes at Mississippi Power Co.'s Plant Daniel this week, as the power generation plant reached out through a new mentoring partnership with the Moss Point School District.

While at Plant Daniel, the students learned about electric power generation, took a tour of the facility, asked dozens of questions and participated in science experiments aimed at boosting their interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.

As part of the new partnership, plant employees will be going out to the schools to mentor students, help with science fairs and assist in robotics programs, Washington said.

Another group of Moss Point High School's career technical education and advanced math class students will come in for a similar tour day in October, she said.

Washington said the mentorship program came about because "Mississippi Power is big on education and community."

Hopefully, the students' adventure this week will teach them "yes, science and math are important," she said, and that Mississippi Power is a viable option for building a career and providing for a family.

They learned about job options in engineering, chemistry, craft labor, operations, maintenance and more while performing experiments.

One experiment in human energy had them ride a stationary bike quickly enough to power several lights, a strobe light and then a bubble machine.

Another quizzed them on the reaction that occurs when you toss Mentos mints into a two-liter Coca-Cola product. (Hint: it's akin to a fizzy volcano eruption.)

The boys, who made bets about whether the regular Coke or Diet Coke would be more reactive, laughed and yelled as the carbonated beverages exploded on the sidewalk.

Gregory Johnson, 11, said the Mentos experiment was his favorite.

"I liked it because it was fun to see the chemical reaction," he said.

Johnson said he knew very little about Plant Daniel before his field trip, but now he would even consider a career there.

"I think I would like electrical engineering," the boy said.

Israel Davison, 12, said he liked the demonstrations on how electricity is generated.

"It helps us see how we get electricity at our light switch at home," he said.

Language arts teacher Victoria Fallon-Goff said she could tell the boys were having a great time with the experiments and other activities.

"Magnolia Middle School is very honored to have this opportunity to partner with Plant Daniel to promote education and expose students to STEM jobs, which will be available for our students in the future," she said.